


Wonderwall

by eccentrick, indigostardust



Series: Ereri Secret Santa Gifts 2k15 [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Swearing, diabetic! Eren, mentions of Mikasa/Annie, mentions of medicine/insulin, mentions of platonic Hange/Moblit, pharmacy tech! Levi, slightly irresponsible self care
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-24
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-05-08 17:01:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5505809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eccentrick/pseuds/eccentrick, https://archiveofourown.org/users/indigostardust/pseuds/indigostardust
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Soulmate AU where the name of your soulmate appears when you are <i>expected</i> to meet your soulmate within the time span of five years. That doesn’t always happen, though, and Eren Jaeger knows that all too well. What’s a guy to do? Eat chocolate. Because that solves all your problems (and in this fic, it really does).</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wonderwall

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Nowl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nowl/gifts).



> Our Ereri Secret Santa gift for [i-am-nowl](http://i-am-nowl.tumblr.com)!

 

**"Today is gonna be the day that they're gonna throw it back to you."**

How many times would Eren have to say it?

_No, I am not going to go on a date with the guy from my Thursday morning class, Armin._

_Yes, I know I actually have to go out to find my soulmate, Mikasa._

_No, if I had a horse for a soulmate, it would have been you, Jean._

Eren grumbled behind the wheel just as he turned into the pharmacy drive-thru lane of his regular Walgreens. Falling in line behind three other cars, Eren pulled out the emergency Snickers bar he always kept in his glove compartment to eat out his frustrations.

Just as he was about to tear into the chocolate bar, Eren’s sight fell upon the tattoo on his wrist. Maybe it was out of habit that he looked, he did spend over three years staring at the name.

Right. 3 years. 7 months. 2 days. Was he going to have to start counting hours now too?

‘Rivaille’ in angular, crisp, pretty lines against his tanned skin. The letters itself darkened his mood even more, so Eren tore his eyes away from it to take a vicious bite out of the chocolately goodness. Chocolate was more far more important than the stupid name of his soulmate.

The line moved.

It wasn’t like Eren _didn’t_ want to find his soulmate. Quite the contrary, he’s been searching everywhere for the guy, looking at every guys’ wrist that he’s come across. Hell, he’s even looked at _girls’_ wrist. But it’s been nearly four years since the name of his soulmate appeared on his wrist that first day of college, and his soulmate has yet to appear.

One could say Eren was angry borderline panicked, not quite desperate yet, though. That was for people who didn’t find their soulmates within the first five years of knowing the name of their soulmate. Those people either traveled the whole globe to find their soul mate in the best case scenarios, some didn’t find their soulmate until nearly fifteen years or more in the mediocre scenarios, and in the worst scenarios… their soulmate had died before they could find each other. Now, a thought like that was sure to make anyone desperate. Eren wasn’t at that stage yet. He still had 1 year, 5 months, and 28 days. And according to his friends, he was at a good time to ‘test the waters’ and ‘enjoy a little’.

Hell no, Eren had to wait over _eighteen_ years just to even know his soulmate’s name, not everyone was as lucky as Mikasa and Annie. The two of them had their tattoos within months of entering this world, finding each other in pre-school, both too young to fully realize what they were to become. (Though they have more than certainly done so by now, and then some. Eren’s walked in one too many times for it to even be remotely okay.)

Eren could wait five more to do all the ‘dating’ stuff (and the sex stuff) when he found the guy, Eren’s friends be damned. If Eren ever found his soulmate, that is. Eren has also read about cases on never finding your soulmate late at night when the curiosity over his own soulmate had begun to melt into worry of never finding Rivaille.

Who even had a name like Rivaille? What kind of name was that? Eren took another aggressive bite out of his Snickers.

Eren rolled up towards the window (finally) and reached over, setting his insurance card, license, and debit card on the counter before continuing to eat his king size bar while waiting. He heard the window open, the slide of his cards as they were picked up, and the closing of the window again, but Eren didn’t care about much else aside from his chocolate.

“What the fuck are you eating?”

Eren’s hand holding his Snicker bar stopped halfway on its way to his awaiting mouth. He blinked.

Then, Eren whipped his head to glare at the motherfucker who dared to say shit about his eating habits, only to come face to face with a raven haired man who made him want to re-think this “waiting for my one true love” thing because… Hot damn, this man was _hot_. All sharp angular lines, eyes a crisp blue, and pretty pink lips that formed a bit of a scowl.  

The man waved his carton of insulin, bringing Eren to (some of) his senses. This asshole dared to question his beloved Snickers.

“Diabetes is more than just taking your meds and insulin.” The asshole’s face had returned to a more stoic setting, but his eyes narrowed at Eren none the less, causing inky black strands to fall into his eyes. “It requires serious lifestyle adjustments.”

‘Levi’, the man’s name tag read.

“You’re obviously new.” Eren huffed, wondering where the fuck Marco was, the Freckled Jesus never said a damn thing against Eren’s beloved chocolate. “I’ve had a day, alright, man? Let me eat my goddamn Snickers in peace.”

“You’ve had a bad day? Oh, how insensitive of me. I’m such a noob. Go right ahead and eat the chocolate, maybe you don’t need this insulin after all.” Levi deadpanned, but made no move with the small box.

Eren growled and stuck out his hand, reaching towards the window. “Fuck off, asshole. Can you just give me my meds now?”

The other man shrugged, just about to hand over Eren’s insulin when he paused, staring at Eren’s outstretched arm.

“ _What_?” Eren gritted, more than annoyed now. (Mostly because one, Levi was an asshole. Two, Levi was a really hot one that Eren was gonna have trouble keeping out of his mind.)

Levi crinkled his nose, making Eren’s irritation seep just a little… Man, that was an adorable action. Someone please add that to the Top 100 Cute Things 2k15.

Still, Eren resisted. He was still pissed as hell, really _really_ having a bad day, and Levi, no matter how fine his face may be, wasn’t totally helping.

“What shitted on you, a clown? Go wash your hands.” With that, Levi gave Eren his meds and insulin along with all his cards, shutting the window with such speed Eren was left gaping.

He carefully placed his meds on the passenger seat, slipping his cards back into his jeans pocket, then stared at his hand that Levi was so disgusted by. No wonder, blotches of color from his painting just before he left to pick up his meds.

How rude. It was just paint, Eren snorted to himself. He must be a clean freak. A sexy, rude, sarcastic clean freak.

Eren really hoped Rivaille was nothing like that, because goddammit, he didn’t paint his dream guy as a gentleman for nothing.  

 

**"Back beat, the word is on the street that the fire in your heart is out."**

Kill me now, Levi thinks, just kill me slowly, it would be better than dealing with this.

Hanji sat on their stool, laughing, while slapping their knee in complete hysteria. Levi's face heated even more if possible, and he had begun thinking of ways to possibly murder Hanji in a slow, gruesome manner. Of course he would never go through with it because Hanji was his best friend, but that didn't mean he didn't question his own taste.

"I - I can't b-believe you - you said that!" Hanji tried to say through their laughter. "'What shitted on you, a clown?' Oh, my word, I can't believe you said that!"

"Yes, yes, I know, you've said that at least five times. I get it." He was about to ask what Hanji was on, when they fell out of their seat with a big thump. They didn't even try to get up, just rolled on the wooden floor, giggling up a storm.

"Dammit, Shitty Glasses, you haven't even finished a whole glass." Levi sighed.

He and Hanji had come to one of their favorite bars, the Survey Corps, to get a drink after work. They didn't do this often, because it usually ended with Levi carrying Hanji's stanky ass to the car and cleaning up their drool from his passenger seat. Hanji has about as much tolerance to alcohol as Levi does with bullshit, suffice to say.

Of course, this time had been different

Levi had found his soul mate. Finally.

He had tried to fool himself into thinking he didn't need one, that all this fretting caused constipation and that was something no one needed. Levi had it all figured out, he didn't need anyone else and that was a fact. He even had taken to covering his wrist with tape, or a bracelet, whatever covered the name that has plagued his thoughts since it appeared on his wrist.

Eren.

The name hadn’t even registered when Levi looked up the his order, not until he saw Eren’s wrist.

Eren.

Of course Levi had been stuck with a brat. A beautiful brat, yes, but one who ate a Snickers bar while picking up his diabetic medicine. Levi was definitely not worried at all, he was just simply disgusted that someone can have such lack of care about their health.

Scooping up a wasted Hanji took quite a lot of effort, especially since they were basically dead weight, but he somehow got them onto his back. Leaving a tip for the unfortunate bartender, he made slow progress to his car, a beat up Chevy that was the only thing he could afford with his student loans.

When he opened the door, Hanji squeezed his neck.

"You," they hiccup, "you aren't gonna be a hard ass a-about this, are you? 'Cuz, if you are, I'll make Moblit beat..." Hanji paused their slurring. "Beat you up, yeah, he'll kick your ass and I - I will..." They didn't finish the sentence, only snored loudly right into Levi's ear. What a pain.

Once the drunk brunette was buckled in, Levi was on his way to Hanji's place, which was in the total opposite direction of his, but it gave him time to think.

It had surprised Levi that he had met his soul mate at his job of all places. It wasn't that unusual, really, because everyone needed medicine every once and in a while, it was just that he hadn't run into Eren earlier. He had been working at the pharmacy that Hanji had helped him get into for a couple of months now, and with Eren being a customer that would need meds on a regular basis, it felt like fate was fucking with them.

Well, you, more like it. You didn't even tell him you were soulmates.

It wasn't his fault, though. Levi had panicked, seeing his name on Eren's wrist, his elegant writing that came from practice. He froze, and spewed whatever he could think of, which, for him, was almost always bitter sarcasm. It was his defense.

If seeing his own name was shocking enough, his soul mate's beauty almost gave him a heart attack. Eren had perfectly tanned skin, tone warm and golden, and his hair was a mess, which he somehow made look good. His hands were covered in something colorful paint stains that drew his eyes to the male's wrist. _Rivaille_ , it had read, his own name.

At first, Levi had been shocked by his immediate lust for the other male, but he assumed that’s all it was, even when he had unconsciously directed his gaze at Eren’s lips, which was a plush pink, shaped like a cupid's bow. It all made sense, though, seeing his name on Eren’s wrist. They were made for one another.

Ah, fuck, when did I get this sappy? Levi grumbled to himself.

Pulling into Hanji's apartment complex, he locked the doors before he called Moblit. He was definitely not gonna carry Hanji’s big ass all the way up three flights of stairs because their stupid elevator was broken. Their husband could do the work.

Once the poor guy met him at the door, apologizing for his soul mate's behavior, Levi was off, heading home after his exhausting day.

Levi stared at his windshield wipers, going at a slower speed because it had started raining. He tried to understand his feelings. Hanji and Moblit were soul mates, yes, but they were completely platonic. From Levi's earlier reaction, he figured that Eren and his were definitely not platonic and more than likely sexual, but he didn't want to force anything in case it wasn’t; you could have sex and still be platonic, right, if you really wanted to? Levi wasn't sure.

Deep down, he knew whatever he felt was about to erupt, and he wasn’t sure if he would be ready. It was hilarious, really, in an ironic way, since he had thought he would never find his soul mate. Secretly, Levi had been crushed about it. Hanji was the only reason he held out any hope.

"Oh, don't be such a worry wart, Levi. Just go with the flow," and, "You may act like you don't care, but we both know you care a lot. Anyone would be lucky to have you."

Hanji had really done so much for him, getting him the job at the pharmacy, cheering him up when needed. He was truly thankful, thought he'd never tell them that.

《¤》 《¤》 《¤》

Levi didn't even bother to go to sleep that night, his mind was too preoccupied with whether he should act on his knowledge of Eren.

He could easily get Eren’s last name and address, but he didn't want to be creepy. Levi wasn't sure when they'd see each other again, though. And god forbid if Hanji waited on Eren, Levi would want to be struck down by lightening before that happened.

Sighing, he made a cup of coffee and started getting ready for work. Choosing the most comfortable thing that still fit his required uniform, he rolled up his sleeves. Eren's named peeked out, making his wrist feel bare.

Reaching through his bathroom cabinet, he found his usual tape, prepping it so it would be the right size to cover his soul mate's name. It stuck to his fingers, bunching and clinging to itself. If Levi was superstitious, he would say that fate didn't want him to cover the name. But he wasn't.

Finally, Levi got a strip the right size, and began to cover the mark. His stomach dropped, and his fingers itched to be rid of the tape the moment he put it on and smoothed it over his skin. He found that it didn't feel right anymore to cover it anymore, it wouldn't seem fair. Levi still felt uncomfortable, his wrist naked, but he was not going to cover it.

Eren's name on his wrist was not something that should be hidden.

 

**"I said, maybe you're gonna be the one that saves me. And after all, you're my wonderwall."**

Eren had been to the pharmacy again a couple times seeing as he needed refills every month, going inside instead of the drive thru window. Although, he did see Levi both of those times behind the counter, Eren didn’t interact with him. Levi was busy with other customers, Eren rationalized to himself, and he didn’t eat any more chocolate bars when he went to pick up his insulin and prescription. Eren thought about Levi, though. Often.

His anger had subsided since their initial meeting three months prior, and he was only left with burning curiosity. Yeah, Levi was hot, but did the man really have to take over Eren’s every waking thought? No, but he did anyway, which made no sense to Eren. He had a soulmate to be looking for. Yet, even Eren’s art had begun to take a slightly different shape, and he knew it was influenced by Levi.

Again, soulmate. Clock ticking? Earth to Eren! Get this guy out of your head!

Eren couldn’t. He couldn’t stop thinking about the man’s jet black hair that looked soft and silky to the touch, his (adorably) short, yet built, stature, and his sarcastic humor. The clock wasn’t stopping though, and with each day, Eren’s panic grew slightly, though the discovery of Levi was helpful in slowing down the process. Maybe Eren could give the playing field a try. After all, at this rate, he wasn’t going to find his soulmate any time soon.

Eren’s shoulders slumped as he let out a breath.

“Are you okay, Eren?” Armin asked, sitting in the seat just to Eren’s left.

Next to Armin was Annie, Mikasa’s girlfriend, who was also giving a slightly concerned gaze. Whoever said blondes were whiny bimbos? They clearly hadn’t met the two he was sitting with on uncomfortable metal bleachers in a gym that smelled of sweat and filled with buzzing sound. The tournament would start soon, and the three of them were already stationed by the area of the gym where Mikasa’s first round would begin.

Man, Eren felt bad for whoever went against his best friend. They were going to get their ass beat because Mikasa was a kick boxing champ and a merciless machine in the ring.

As the announcers called for some peace and quiet in the gym so that fighters could meditate before the first bells would ring and start the tournament. Last minute viewers were quietly making their way in and finding whatever sparse seat they could find.

“Is this seat taken?”

Could a half whisper sound so divine? That was Eren’s first unconscious thought as he turned his head towards the voice.

“Levi,” the man’s name fell from Eren’s lips in something of a whisper meeting a gasp. “Uh, w-what are you doing here?”

“No snappy remarks about my newbie status this time?” Levi replied, though Eren couldn’t tell if he was teasing or not. “Can I sit or not?”

“Oh, uh, no. I mean, yes, you can. Sorry. I meant, no, this seat is not taken.” Eren felt the heat rise to his cheeks but he willed his blush down.

Levi was still an asshole, he reminded himself, and he was here to support Mikasa, not freak out about his pharmacy tech crush.

The other man just raised a brow at Eren but took the seat nonetheless, muttering a quiet ‘thank you’.

Sure enough, by round 2, Mikasa was definitely winning even if she wasn’t trying too hard, and Levi had yet to say a word to Eren since he sat down. By round 3, Mikasa had found a bit of a challenge. Annie’s expression was now stern, Armin was chewing his nails here and there, and Levi… Eren took another look at the man beside him.

Levi was leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees. The guy was just wearing dark jeans and a regular t-shirt, just like Eren. The difference, though, was that Eren could see the guy’s clearly defined muscles of his broad back and shoulders. Eren would be lying if he said he wasn’t secretly drooling. His gaze traveled down to Levi’s biceps and strong forearms when Levi finally turned to him, pointing towards the ring.

“Not going to lie, your friend’s pretty badass.” Levi was looking straight at Eren, but Eren didn’t register a word Levi had said. He could tell Levi said something. Eren could also tell that Mikasa won the round and their group was clapping, but Eren was busy staring at Levi’s – no, _Rivaille’s_ wrist attached to the hand still half gesturing towards the ring. It was his name. In scrawly, yet somehow legible, letters, and it was tattooed onto Levi’s wrist.

 _Oh, shit._ That was all Eren could think as he continued to stare until Levi followed his gaze and waved the very hand in front of Eren’s face. Way to rub it in, asshole.

“You alright, there?”

“Levi. Rivaille. . . What?” Eren tore his gaze away to meet Levi’s clear blue eyes that were filled with amusement (the bastard) and… relief?

“Rivaille is my birth name. It’s a little too hard to spell for people, or pronounce, so I go by Levi. It’s the English version of my name, anyway.” _Rivaille_ shrugged.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Eren paid little attention as Armin and Annie announced that they were gonna move to watch Mikasa’s quarterfinal round in a different ring in 30 minutes.

Again, Levi shrugged, but he also looked away, a tinge of pink dusting the tops of his sharp cheekbones.

“I don’t quite know, to be honest. I guess I was … scared. You, on the other hand, were cute while clueless. I did display my wrist for two months, and you never saw it, even if I was waving my arm behind the counter.” Levi gave a slight chuckle. 

To Levi’s surprise, Eren began to laugh along too.

Eren shook his head. “You’re my soulmate, and my opinion of you hasn’t changed. You’re still an asshole.”

“What were you expecting? A prince in shining armor? A gentleman that opened your doors?”

Eren scowled and pushed Levi’s shoulder. “Yeah, exactly that. I had to wait almost four years for you.”

A small smile graced Levi’s lips. “I’ll have to work on that then. Think I could start with asking you to dinner after this?”

“Absolutely.”   

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there!
> 
> Here’s some fun notes to add about this fic:
> 
> -Eren and Levi are both seniors at the same university, but since Eren is an art major and Levi is a science major, they haven’t ever seen one another. 
> 
> -Levi met Hanji when he was a freshman and they were a senior at the same high school. They stayed good friends ever since then, and somehow Hanji convinced Levi to pursue the same career as them. Hanji does it for their love of science and chemisty. Levi’s doing it for the $$. Hanji recommend Levi to intern where they work (the Walgreens mentioned here).
> 
> -Hanji likes to sing really loudly and off key in their little pharmacy lab. “Wonderwall” was playing right before Eren pulled up to the window. 
> 
> -Eren has type 2 diabetes, and while he does enjoy the occasional chocolate bar, he is pretty good at taking care of himself.
> 
> We sincerely hope you enjoyed this soulmate au! 
> 
> Happy holidays!
> 
> \- Dawn & Jazz


End file.
